Love Live! Superstar!! 2nd Season

As another year begins at Yuigaoka Girls' High School, ushering in a fresh batch of students, the school idol club Liella! is excited to expand their membership. However, Liella! is extremely popular due to the astounding talent they have continuously displayed; thus, new students lack the courage to even consider approaching the club, fearing the rigorous training that might lie ahead.

Amid her worries, club leader and co-founder Kanon Shibuya meets first-year student Kinako Sakurakouji and tells her about the world of school idols. This leaves Kinako in awe, but being fairly average herself, she feels she would not be capable of matching the spirited performances of the brilliant Liella! members. Nonetheless, Kinako receives encouragement to join the group and comes to share their dream of reaching for the stars once again in the grand Love Live! Competition.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Love Live! Superstar!! 2nd Season was released on Blu-ray in six volumes from September 28, 2022 to February 24, 2023.

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Prequel:	Love Live! Superstar!!
Other:	Liella no Uta 2
Sequel:	Love Live! Superstar!! 3rd Season

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Characters & Voice Actors

Shibuya, Kanon

Main

Date, Sayuri
Japanese

Tang, Keke

Main

Liyuu
Japanese

Heanna, Sumire

Main

Payton, Naomi
Japanese

Arashi, Chisato

Main

Misaki, Nako
Japanese

Hazuki, Ren

Main

Aoyama, Nagisa
Japanese

Wakana, Shiki

Main

Ookuma, Wakana
Japanese

Yoneme, Mei

Main

Yabushima, Akane
Japanese

Sakurakouji, Kinako

Main

Suzuhara, Nozomi
Japanese

Onitsuka, Natsumi

Main

Emori, Aya
Japanese

Margarete, Wien

Supporting

Yuina
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Kyougoku, Takahiko

Director

Nagasaki, Yukio

Sound Director

Nakayama, Naoya

Episode Director, Storyboard

Date, Sayuri

Theme Song Performance

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Opening Theme

"WE WILL!!" by Liella!

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Ending Theme

	"Oikakeru Yume no Saki de (追いかける夢の先で)" by Kinako Sakurakouji (Nozomi Suzuhara) (eps 2)
	"Oikakeru Yume no Saki de (追いかける夢の先で)" by Liella! (eps 3)
	"Oikakeru Yume no Saki de (追いかける夢の先で)" by Mei Yoneme (Akane Yabushima), Shiki Wakana (Wakana Ookuma) (eps 4)
	"Oikakeru Yume no Saki de (追いかける夢の先で)" by Natsumi Onitsuka (Aya Emori) (eps 5)
	"Oikakeru Yume no Saki de (追いかける夢の先で)" by Hazuki Ren (Nagisa Aoyama) (eps 6)

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Reviews

Oct 9, 2022

rrakku

Not Recommended

“Welcome to our world!” The five girls’ first performance of this season was a warm welcome not just to the aspiring members of Liella, but also to the audience for returning to witness a new chapter. And I mean, who could resist? Superstar season one is perhaps one of if not the best idol show out currently out there. So, how did second season fare?

Well, not great. Introducing new characters this late into the series naturally comes with some compromises, and this season of Superstar had the wrong priorities.

Now, I don’t mean that Kinako, Mei, Shiki, or Natsumi are bad characters, they are decent. They ... have strong, distinctive designs that reflect their personas; some of their character traits mesh very well with the original five, like Mei with Keke or Natsumi with Sumire. Mei and Shiki’s relationship is adorable. And although Some of their attributes on the extreme end, e.g. Shiki’s nonsense gadgets and Natsumi’s “desuno” mannerisms, could annoy some people, it ultimately comes down to personal preference and I digress.

To introduce new members to an existing idol group is to risk alienating your audience, because people came for Kanon, for Keke, for Chisato, for Sumire, and for Ren, not for Kinako, or Mei, or Shiki, or Natsumi. So the question is, how do you get people to keep watching while you introduce characters that no one cares about? The solution Superstar gave to this question is to get their introduction over with as soon as possible, cramming it all into its first episodes. I don’t think that’s a good approach. The first episodes resemble the real life equivalent of a freshmen ice-breaker, not necessarily the most entertaining stuff.

In later episodes, as the characters get to know each other, you can see their characters play off each other better. Conversations feel substantial, sometimes even fun, and not just vegetables talking to each other. In a sense you could argue that therefore the awkward start only makes it more realistic: the more time you spend with the same group of people, the more comfortable you are with them. However, disregarding the discussion of whether the realism of fiction is always preferable or not, it still doesn’t make it any fun to watch.

One could also make the case that their addition was a cornerstone to season two’s structure, essential for the dramatic confrontation between Keke and Sumire. Keke’s potential departure is perhaps the easily the most intricate, important, and interesting plot thread in season one left unresolved, it’s very intricate and showcases the emotional intelligence of both of them. However, in this season, the whole situation ended on quite a bitter note. The confrontation and solution is too cheesy, and the most detrimental part about it is the climatic scene where Sumire spills the beans about Keke. But there are redeeming qualities: the voice acting coming out of the whole sequence is done insanely well, the drama feels authentic and there are nuances in everyone’s thoughts that the audience can understand and appreciate. And that’s about the high-note of this season in terms of story.

Because if last season’s story required some suspension of disbelief, the story this season is sometimes borderline incoherent. I won’t delve into it deep here, because there plainly isn’t much to talk about, I’ll just give a few examples. Obligatory spoiler warning.

Episode 1: somehow because Kinako stumbled upon the five practising, they suddenly want to HER specifically as THE new member(?)

Episode 3: to celebrate(?) their loss at a local competition, they decided to hold a performance at their own school(?)

Episode 7: Ren got addicted to games, so their solution is to play together to overcome her addiction(?)

I guess the only other storyline that made any sense coincidentally also comes from a new character: Wien Margarete. She is the real rival of Liella, hinted at in episode two and only appears every now and then when she needs to. Even then, so little is known about her until an exposition dump in episode eleven, which backfilled her motivation and established a “she doesn’t have a soul of a school idol” narrative. Even then, it's like the writer knew that there would be a season three, so they just left this part of the story unfinished, so we'll see how that goes. On the topic of Margarete, we were told that her performances are jaw-dropping, insanely good, on a completely different level than even Liella or Sunny Passion. In reality, we can’t even see the performances when they have lost, and the only time we saw her beat, it was when Liella squarely diffed her both in terms of music and choreography.

Which brings me to season two’s saving grace, its performances. At this point I am convinced that the Love Live franchise has the most talented people in the industry working on the 3D models, animation, and music. They continue to be stunning this season, and sometimes even one upping themselves. Chance day, Chance Way! has Chisato jumping up in 2D but landing in 3D in one continuous shot, which I swear is more impressive than it sounds; Sing! Shine! Smile! has hands down the most beautiful set, most expressive faces, and most natural movements in any Love Live; Mirai no Oto ga Kikoeru is subtle and comparatively muted as a finals song, but it reflects on the growth of everyone over the season and the decision to put Ren in the centre was refreshing. They definitely do cut corners when the characters are not performing though, to the point where it feels like the video game equivalent of cutting back to gameplay from a cutscene when the girls get off the stage.

Superstar season two may be best described exactly as this, a series of dazzling music videos with this poor excuse of a story put in between them. Let's wish season three isn't as much of a disappointment.

At least the songs are still bangers.

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Oct 9, 2022

k_nick

Not Recommended

I've been into Love Live for years. At first, Liella didn't really catch my eye when they were introduced as a new project, but the enjoyable 1st season of the anime coupled with the casts' amazing live performances in their 1st live tour made me fall in love. The chemistry within the group (the seiyuus) is definitely special, and the second years have been a delightful addition to the group. I hope I'm able to win tickets to a performance in 3rd 🥺🥺🥺.

Unfortunately, I don't feel the same passion as I do for the seiyuus as I do for the anime. To put it simply; ... it was very disappointing. There are so many things to nitpick from the anime that bring it down, but I think the main cause for the disaster was a lack of any overarching narrative other than 'let's win Love Live' and a sporadic mess of ideas.

The good things.
- Production (Lives super pretty, no real negatives here)
- Some of the songs are pretty nice
- Prepares you for Liella 3rd Live Tour :D

The bad... 🥺
Introduction of the 1st years.
With the exception of Shiki and Mei's arc being solid, Kinako and Oninatsu's arcs were... unfortunate. Their addition into Liella feels not only forced, but uninteresting with a lack of genuine emotion. Also, once all of them are added into the group, you can't help but feel they are pushed to the side and basically become air in the presence of the other 5 members.

Lack of meaning in songs.
Love Live's production has only gone up since School Idol Project, and it's clear as day to see within this season's MVs. Despite this, however, I found there was no real sense of connection between most of the insert songs with what was actually occurring in the story. In season 1, almost all the songs feel specifically created for that moment in the story - something that was lacking in this season. In one episode, a Japanese-Rock type song is performed by the group. Is it good? Yeah. Does it make any sense in the story? Not really. The contents of the episode prior to the live was such a juxtaposition, and it made the song feel completely out of left field with it not having any correlation to the 'sentimental' nature the episode was trying to portray. Also most of the songs are kinda mid compared to 1st season lol

The new rival
i don't even wanna explain this one man. not a fun/interesting character. I didn't really understand why she's being forced so much until the last episode. I have a pretty good idea what the LL staff are wanting to do with her now and the direction the story/group will go in, but wow the execution was just poor. Poor Sanipa as well... got done dirty,,,

Just not that interesting :(
Most of the episodes were just boring. the drama wasn't particularly well written, so it was hard to connect with the characters on an emotional level. although I don't think season 1 was perfect or a masterpiece, there is definitely a spark missing from this season that made the 1st season as enjoyable as it was for me. The emotions I felt during Mirai Yohou Hallelujah and Tiny Stars just didn't exist in this season.

TLDR
Unless you're a huge fan of Liella or the sequel makes this season worth enduring, I can't honestly recommend watching this season. It's an uninteresting mess of a story, and if you just want to watch the live performances, you can just go on youtube for that lol. I love Liella so it pained me the write this, but it's because I love the group so much that I feel like I needed to make people aware that this season was just bad, even as a huge Liella fan. If you're still interested in the group though, I'd highly recommend checking out their live performances/content outside of the anime. The group is 尊い and honestly as long as they keep doing what they're doing, 1 bad season of anime isn't gonna bother me.

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Oct 9, 2022

Marinate1016

Recommended

Just when I think Love Live has reached its peak it kicks things into gear and surpasses everything I thought I knew about this franchise. It’s with great pleasure that I say Love Live Superstar!! S2 is easily the best the franchise has ever been and is a blast from beginning to end.

When the Liella girls got announced a couple of years ago I was cautiously optimistic about how their anime would go. They had amazing designs, but not much was known about them since they were only formed in 2021. Fortunately, from the very first episode of season 1 I was hooked on the ... girls’ music, personalities and overall vibe of this LL iteration. That only continued to increase as season 1 went on, and things have got even better this time around in season 2. The biggest overall improvements for me are the story, the drama, the stakes and the performances. LL is at its core a light hearted idol series, but this season actually did a good job of creating tension with Keke’s family situation, introducing the new girls and Margarethe’s rivalry with Kanon.

Speaking of the new girls, I LOVE all of the first years, with the exception of Natsumi. I think they were all such great additions and Shiki and Mei have already become two of my fave idol girls in general. Seeing liella finally come together as a full unit and reach their full potential was just amazing. Of particular note for me was Sumire. She’s one of my fave characters ever, and you could really see her take major strides in this season. Going from kind of a jokey comic relief character to a real leader and her episode with Keke is among the top 3 in LL history imo. A truly beautiful episode.

Now of course, you can’t talk about an idol show without going over the music. I thought the music in this season was phenomenal. Several of the girls solo songs are on constant repeat in my playlist and it looks like Sunrise have nearly perfected CGI blending during performances too. It’s amazing how we’ve come from such blatant and obvious CGI during lives to not even being able to really detect it. Of particular note for me are Margarethe’s performance from episode 10, Liella’s first full 9 member performance and Shiki’s solo performance. All 3 were just stunning.

Love Live Superstar!! Season 1 is a must watch for any fan of the idol genre. Not only is it the perfect follow up to season 1, but it’s one of the best idol seasons, period. The Love Live franchise continues to push the bar and sit atop the music anime mountain, I do not see that changing anytime soon.

Love Live Superstar!! Season 2, gets 10 out of 10.

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Poll: Love Live! Superstar!! 2nd Season Episode 10 Discussion AkeZZZ - Sep 25, 2022	40 replies	by Magito »» May 21, 8:51 AM
Poll: Love Live! Superstar!! 2nd Season Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) AkeZZZ - Oct 9, 2022	88 replies	by Destroyer31 »» May 5, 1:32 AM
Is Kanon the best Love Live character so far? bradenurso - Feb 5	9 replies	by DmonHiro »» Feb 16, 7:40 PM
more new members ichihito - Jan 10	2 replies	by Frankreichen »» Jan 11, 5:23 AM
Poll: Love Live! Superstar!! 2nd Season Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 ) AkeZZZ - Sep 18, 2022	52 replies	by KikiTheDestroyer »» Jan 6, 6:22 PM

Love Live! Superstar!! 2nd Season

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Characters & Voice Actors

Shibuya, Kanon

Tang, Keke

Heanna, Sumire

Arashi, Chisato

Hazuki, Ren

Wakana, Shiki

Yoneme, Mei

Sakurakouji, Kinako

Onitsuka, Natsumi

Margarete, Wien

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Love Live! Superstar!! 2nd Season

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Information

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Available At

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Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Episode Videos

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Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

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Ending Theme

Reviews

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